It's a Date
by Empress and Protector
Summary: AU in which Percy regularly goes to an Italian restaurant to see the owner, a shy young man. Percico SLASH


**Author's Note: So this was written for my cousin Empress (AKA the other half of this account) because she wanted Percico. I don't ship it but I do love these two and i love her so I wrote it. In return she's writing me a Ghostfire fic.**

**I feel like they're all so OOC (except maybe Annabeth) but oh well. she just wants fluff.**

**Disclaimer: I own the restaurant, but that's it. I don't even own the dish that Percy orders. That belongs to Demos, which i don't own. I also don't own Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. Seriously, none of it's mine.**

**Percy's POV**

Cibo Celeste. Best little Italian place around. It's family owned, has been since it was established just after world war two. Every Friday night I head over after work. "Hey Annabeth, I'm headed to dinner you wanna come?" I ask before leaving work.

The blonde looks up at me "Sorry I can't. I have to finish these blueprints and then I was gonna go visit Thalia and I'm sorry."

I frown "Alright well, good luck." I say before walking out of the building. I'm not too bummed that Annabeth couldn't come, we're just friends after all, but it's still nice to hang out with her. I guess though going to Cibo Celeste alone won't be too bad, it's not like I haven't done that every Friday for three months. Probably better honestly, if I brought Annabeth with me there's no doubt Grover would tease me to no end about her being my girlfriend. The street is busy, as it's Manhattan on a Friday and nearly everyone just got off work. It takes me a few minutes to get a cab. I tell the driver where to take me. The closer I get to the little place the fewer cars there are on the road. He drops me off and I pay him.

I walk inside, the greeter smiling at me. He's a dark-haired guy, kinda scruffy but nice. "Hey Perc, your regular booth is open."

I return the smile "Thanks Grover." I say as I walk past, headed towards my booth.

I don't have to wait there long before a young man, around my age walks over. He's got pale skin with black hair, quite a dramatic contrast. He smiles at me, pulling out a notepad. "Hey, same place as always?" he asks, though it's more a statement.

Nodding I say "Still doing some else's job eh Nico?"

He chuckles "I may own the place but that doesn't mean I put myself above everyone else." That's one of the many reasons I love this place, Nico does everything. Takes orders, helps cook, seats people, anything. Half the people who come here probably don't even realize he also runs the place. "Percy? You alive buddy?" he asks, hitting my shoulder with the notepad.

I blink a couple of times "Yeah, sorry just got lost in thought."

He chuckles again, he's gotta stop doing that. It's too cute. "Obviously, I asked what you want."

"Same as always. I don't see why you even ask anymore." I say with a light chuckle.

He writes down my order on the notepad, "I don't need to but I'm polite. Never know when you might try something new."

"There will come a day when I try something new, but today is not that day." I say.

He just rolls his eyes "Your food'll be out in a few minutes." he says, walking back towards the kitchen.

**Nico's POV**

Walking away I spare a glance at Percy. He's looking around, watching the few other people in here. His dark hair was falling from its place, slightly covering green eyes. Entering the kitchen I tell Hazel, the cook, Percy's order then walk into my office to deal with some paper work. Sitting at my desk though I couldn't focus, my thoughts kept drifting my regular guest sitting out there. After a few minutes of not being able to focus I give up and exit the office. "Hey Nico, can you take Percy's order to him?" Hazel asks.

I nod and grab the plate. As always he got the brown butter garlic spaghetti. Walking out of the kitchen I smile at him as I walk over. "Here you go." I say, nearly muttering as I set the plate down.

"Thanks. Y'know one of these days you should take a break from working and eat with me." he says before taking a sip of his drink.

It might just be me but his cheeks look a bit red. Regardless of the color of his cheeks I can feel mine heating up. "Really?" I ask, immediately wanting to facepalm. Of course he really meant it, he wouldn't have asked otherwise.

"Yeah, I mean you always seem to be working. You should take a break sometime." Percy said, slightly rushing the words.

I glance at my watch, I've been at work nearly six hours and haven't had break. "Well it's about time I had a break, I could get something small then join you."

Percy smiled "That's be gr-nice." he said.

"Right, well I'll be right back." I say before turning and walking back to the kitchen. "Hey Hazel, I'm taking my break okay?" I say as I fix a small dish.

"Alright." she acknowledges, but focuses on whatever she's doing.

A few minutes later I'm back at Percy's table. By this point he's half done with his meal, which makes me glad I didn't get anything too big. For several minutes we sit in an awkward silence before Percy speaks. "So uh, what do you do when you're not working?" he asks.

"Um well I've collected comics since I was a teenager." I say.

"Comics huh? Cool. Any particular favorites?" He asks.

I nod, taking a bite of my food. "I've always like Jason Todd. He's an outcast but still a hero of sorts."

Percy nods attentively "Cool, personally I like Dick Grayson better, but we're all entitled to our own favorites." At this point our conversation seems to be going pretty well.

**Hazel's POV**

With no orders to be working on I walk over to Grover. "Hey, you owe you ten bucks."

He turns around suddenly, letting out a yelp. "Yeesh woman don't sneak up on me."

I laugh slightly "I didn't you're just too busy watching soccer to be aware of what's going on."

Grover shoves his phone into his pocket. "Whatever. Why do I owe you ten bucks?" he asks.

I look over at Nico and Percy "You didn't think they'd actually sit down together and eat by the end of the month.

He looked at them then glares at me, pulling out his wallet. "I hate you Hazel Levesque."

Smirking I take the money from him. "I know you mean love." I say before heading back to the kitchen to see if I have anything to work on.

**Percy's POV**

When I finish eating and pay Nico sees me to the door. "This was fun. I'd like to do it again." I say, trying not to stumble over my words.

Nico smiles and nods, nervously rubbing his hands together. "Yeah, I'm not working tomorrow. If you're free."

I smile and nod "Yeah, meet me here around noon?"

He returns the smile "It's a date. Uh not a date date just like never mind." he said, trailing off the end of the sentence and looking away from me in an attempt to hide the blush on his cheeks.

Laughing slightly I lightly hit his arm "Cat got your tongue?" He nods slowly, still avoiding my gaze. I bite my lip for a second before stepping closer to him and kissing his cheek. My cheeks are red as I turn and walk away, glancing back to see Nico smiling shyly. He's always so cute, especially when he's embarrassed.


End file.
